This invention relates to methods for making proteins in recombinant cell culture which contain the .alpha. or .beta. chains of inhibin. In particular, it relates to methods for obtaining and using DNA which encodes inhibin, and for making inhibin variants that depart from the amino acid sequence of natural animal or human inhibins and the naturally-occurring alleles thereof.
Inhibin is a protein produced in the gonad which acts specifically at the pituitary level to inhibit the secretion of follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH). The existence of inhibin was first postulated by McCullagh in 1932 ("Science 76: 19-20). Such preferential regulation of the gonadotropin secretion has generated a great deal of interest and has prompted many laboratories in the past fifty years to attempt to isolate and characterize this substance from extracts of testis, spermatozoa, rete testis fluid, seminal plasma and ovarian follicular fluid, using various bioassays. Although many reports have appeared in the literature claiming the purification of inhibin-like material with molecular weights ranging from 5,000 to 100,000 daltons, subsequent studies have shown that these substances were not homogeneous, did not have the high specific activity expected of true inhibin and/or failed to exhibit the molecular characteristics of inhibin as described herein (de Jong, Inhibin-Factor Artifact, "Molecular & Cellular Endocrin." 13: 1-10 (1979); Sheth et al., 1984, "F.E.B.S." (165(1) 11-15; Seidah et al., 1984, "F.E.B.S." 175(2): 349-355; Lilja et al., March 1985, "F.E.B.S." 182(1): 181-184; Li et al., June 1985, "Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci. USA" 82: 4041-4044; Seidah et al., "F.E.B.S." 167(1): 98-102; and Beksac et al., 1984, "Intern. J. Andrology" 7: 389-397).
A polypeptide having inhibin activity was purified from bovine or ovine follicular fluid (PCT 86/00078, published Jan. 3, 1986). This protein was reported to have a molecular weight of 56,000.+-.1,000 on SDS-PAGE and was dissociable into two subunits having apparent molecular weights of 44,000.+-.3,000 and 14,000.+-.2,000. Amino terminal sequences for each subunit were described.
Two proteins both having a molecular weight of about 32,000 daltons and having inhibin activity have been successfully isolated from porcine follicular fluid. Purification of porcine inhibin to substantial homogeneity, i.e., about 90% by weight of total protein in the fraction, was achieved through a combination of protein separation procedures including heparin-Sepharose affinity chromatography, gel filtration and reverse-phase, high-performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC).
These proteins were isolated to substantial homogeneity from material obtained from swine and are referred to as Protein A and Protein B. Each protein has a molecular weight of about 32,000 daltons (32K) and is composed of two polypeptide chains having molecular weights of 18,000 and 14,000 daltons, respectively, the chains being linked together in the hormonally-active protein by disulfide bonding. The amino-terminal amino acid residue sequence of the 18,000 dalton (18K) or alpha chain of both proteins was determined to be Ser-Thr-Ala-Pro-Leu-Pro-Trp-Pro-Trp-Ser-Pro-Ala-Ala-Leu-Arg-Leu-Leu-Gln-Ar g-Pro-Pro-Glu-Glu-Pro-Ala-Val (SEQ ID NO. 2). The amino-terminal amino acid residue sequence of the 14,000 dalton (14K) or beta chain of Protein A was determined to be Gly-Leu-Glu-X-Asp-Gly-Lys-Val-Asn-Ile-X-X-Lys-Lys-Gln-Phe-Phe-Val-Ser-Phe- Lys-Asp-Ile-Gly-Tryp-Asn-Asp-Trp-Ile-Ala and of Protein B was determined to be Gly-Leu-Glu-X-Asp-Gly-Arg-Thr-Asn-Leu-X-X-Arg-Gln-Gln-Phe-Phe-Ile-Asp-Phe- Arg-Leu (SEQ ID NO. 3). Proteins A and B have been completely characterized. Each 32K protein exhibits inhibin activity in that it specifically inhibits the basal secretion of FSH but does not inhibit secretion of luteinizing hormone (LH). The individual chains were not hormonally active.
After the filing of the parent application hereto, inhibin B-chain dimers were shown to exist in folicular fluid as naturally-occurring substances, termed activin, which are capable of stimulating FSH release by rat anterior pituitary cells (Vale et al., 1986, "Nature" 321: 776-779 and Ling et al., 1986, "Nature" 321: 779-782).
The amino acid sequence of the .alpha. and .beta. chains of inhibin from humans remained unknown until the invention herein. The large quantities of human follicular fluid required to parallel the studies conducted with animal inhibins are not readily available, nor is there any assurance that human and animal inhibins would be sufficiently similar that purification using a parallel procedure would be effective. Accordingly, methods are needed for determining the characteristics and amino acid sequence for human inhibin.
Also needed are economical methods for making the .alpha. and .beta. chains of inhibin in large quantities, preferably entirely and completely free of proteins from the species homologous to the inhibin in question, which inhibin preferably also is biologically active.
These and other objects will be apparent from consideration of the invention as a whole.